Suggests hearings on future of SRS

By Editor, The Chronicle:

Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., is listening to the Department of Energy instead of his constituents who put him into office (and especially those who work at Savannah River Site) by still saying all will be OK once we get new missions.

Let's demand that he hold an official congressional hearing on Capitol Hill and include Westinghouse officials Ambrose Schwallie and Mario Fiori as well as the new Energy secretary. Let Rep. Norwood select at least six informative people from SRS who have tried for three years to get through to him and explain what was happening and what was going to happen if the reduction in force continues. ...

Let the taxpayers know that Westinghouse and DOE are working hand-in-hand to reduce the work-force entirely so Westinghouse can go strictly to contractors, and contract all the work out. It will thereby have no responsibility toward paying for health insurance and retirement. They will be willing to pay a contractor $100 an hour instead of the $50 an hour that the present engineers receive.

This hearing will also show the American people what Secretary-designate Federico Pena knows about the workings of the Energy Department. He certainly could not oversee the building of the Denver airport, and now he is going to oversee a nuclear (weapons) plant?